Planning Maps

Planning Maps are user defined views that allow positioning custom content within a map.

Reset the map center and zoom

Refresh the contents of the map

Coverage: Show the map Coverage tool

Map Planning: Create, open or manage maps

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Creating Planning Maps

1. To create a map, select Create Planning Map from the Map Option button menu. This action will open a create planning maps form.

2. Enter a map name.

3. Selecting will open the local computer file explorer to select the desired planning map that has previously been created. For this example, the file “Customer_Location_mapversion” was selected. Click the “Import” button to import the planning map into the mapping tool.

4. Selecting “Show Map” results in the mapped objects being displayed on the planning map location. This encompasses all the end point pin locations in the respective view.

Planning Map Fields

Column	Description	Optional
Latitude	The latitude of the entry
Longitude	The longitude of the entry
Address	The address of the entry. This will be used to get the latitude and longitude if not specified.
PathQuality	The path quality value associated with the entry.
Description	A description for the entry.
Type	Either Device Or Base Station (If left blank Device type will be used).
Marker	The icon ID of a marker you wish to use instead of the default one.
Radius	The range of the Base Station in miles if the type selected is Base Station.
Height	The height of the Base Station in feet if the type selected is Base Station.
PQ Bstn 1 EUI	The EUI of the Base Station that gave the best path quality results for the given row
PQ Bstn 1 pathQuality	The path quality result provided by PQ Bstn 1 in decimal percentage.
PQ Bstn 1 Distance	The distance between the entry and PQ Bstn 1 in miles.
PQ Bstn 1 Height	The height of PQ Bstn 1 in feet.
PQ Bstn 1 Azimuth	The Azimuth heading between the entry and PQ Bstn 1 in decimal degrees.
PQ Bstn 2 EUI	The EUI of the Base Station that gave the second best path quality results for the given row
PQ Bstn 2 pathQuality	The path quality result provided by PQ Bstn 2 in decimal percentage.
PQ Bstn 2 Distance	The distance between the entry and PQ Bstn 2 in miles.
PQ Bstn 2 Height	The height of PQ Bstn 2 in feet.
PQ Bstn 2 Azimuth	The Azimuth heading between the entry and PQ Bstn 2 in decimal degrees.
PQ Bstn 3 EUI	The EUI of the Base Station that gave the third best path quality results for the given row
PQ Bstn 3 pathQuality	The path quality result provided by PQ Bstn 3 in decimal percentage.
PQ Bstn 3 Distance	The distance between the entry and PQ Bstn 3 in miles.
PQ Bstn 3 Height	The height of PQ Bstn 3 in feet.
PQ Bstn 3 Azimuth	The Azimuth heading between the entry and PQ Bstn 3 in decimal degrees.

Exporting Planning Maps

Planning Maps can be exported through the Planning Maps table. Simply select on a row by selecting on the name field. Then click the export button. This exports a map in the same format that it was imported so that it can be shared or re-imported. As part of the export, the best 3 Base Stations that contributed to the last Planning Map path quality calculation are included for each entry. This provides the path quality, distance, height, and Azimuth that was measured for that Base Station when compared to that map entry.

Planning Map Marker Images

Image	Marker ID
	bluecircle
	lightbluecircle
	yellowcircle
	greencircle
	lightgreencircle
	redcircle
	pinkcircle
	orangecircle
	lightorangecircle
	graycircle
	darkgraycircle
	lightgraycircle
	towergreen
	towerred
	towerblack
	towerblue
	towerorange
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Managing Planning Maps

Selecting “Manage Planning Maps” displays the planning maps summary table below.

Measuring distance

The map provides the ability to quickly measure the distance between two points on the map. Click the button and then select "Measure Distance" from the menu to enable the feature.

Then select two points on the map and see the distance in miles between them. This disables all other clickable elements so that any two points can be selected without triggering other map features. Clicking close will remove the two markers, the line, and the distance dialog.

Coverage Tool

The Coverage Tool button launches a dialog that contains a search field for entering addresses or locations.

Once the search information is submitted by pressing the enter key or clicking the icon, the map shows a pin for the location and the estimated path quality to nearby Base Stations (See Path Quality below). The green areas on the map reflect areas of high quality radio reception.

Right-clicking on an empty area of the map provides a short cut for checking coverage. This creates a pin at the clicked location and opens the Location Information dialog. Selecting the Path Quality tab shows the estimated path quality to nearby Base Stations (See Path Quality below).

Coverage Layer

The Coverage Layer is designed to display predicted network coverage of Base Stations within a given area. The layer is comprised of all viewsheds corresponding to the Base Stations within the Map's viewport, and presented as green image overlays.

This layer is only enabled at zoom level 9 and higher and may require zooming in to view coverage, as dynamically indicated by the Map Layers icon:

- Available

- Unavailable

Once available, activate the Coverage Layer by first clicking the 'Map Layers' button, and then checking the 'Coverage' option.

When changes in either the location focus of the Map viewport or the zoom level are detected, a refresh is required to update the Coverage Layer's presentation, as indicated by a yellow emphasis outline and motion (not shown) of the 'Refresh Map' button:

The 'Set Coverage Settings' menu shown above can be used to scope the Viewsheds included in the Coverage Layer to a specific Base Station Classification.

The Coverage Layer's opacity can be adjusted via the 'Set Overlay Opacity' option from the menu shown above.

Senet LVN Coverage and Helium Hotspot Layers

Two additional coverage layers are also available to visualize broader regional coverage, the Senet LVN Coverage layer and the Helium Hotpots layer.

Senet LVN Coverage Layer

The Senet LVN Coverage layer shows the aggregate coverage provided by all Base Stations participating in the Senet LVN. Covered areas are presented as green hexagons based on Path Quality colored according to the following table:

Coverage Level	Color	Path Quality
Excellent	Dark Green	Path Quality to hexagon's center point > 75%
Good	Green	Path Quality to hexagon's center point > 25% and <= 75%
Partial	Light	Path Quality to hexagon's center point <= 25%

Helium Hotspots Layer

The Helium Hotspots layer shows the location of known Helium Hotspots on the Map as purple hexagons. Each hexagon may include one or more Helium Hotspots within the displayed region. Path Quality calculations have the option to include Helium Extended coverage for determining whether an area is covered by the Helium Network.

Path Quality

The path quality dialog shown in the lower left of the map, shows detailed information about the distance between the search location and the Base Station and reception quality expressed as a percentage. This percentage reflects the Fresnel clearance (line of site) between two points. This calculation uses an elevation database to determine how obstructions interfere with the line of site. Note: The zoom level of the map can be adjusted after the search to view the results with a different perspective. This may be required to see in-range Base Stations that are outside of the initial result view.

The pin plot for the selected location will also display a vector to each Base Station indicating the direction of coverage.

The following are different examples of line of sight path quality calculations:

And this is how the path quality results are displayed in the map:

Path Quality Settings

Senet provides the ability to configure how path quality is calculated by allowing override of key inputs as well as control over which type of Base Station it is calculated for. Inputs overrides include Base Station height (feet) and radius (miles) , Device height (feet) and whether or not to include Helium Extended coverage. The Classification filter constrains which types of Base Stations the calculation is performed for. Customized settings are persisted across calculations to ensure a consistent planning experience.

Multiple Classifications

Include Helium Coverage

Path Quality Results

Path Quality Marker Colors

Path Quality Markers are generated for Planning Map entries that do not have a pre-defined marker. The markers are generated if the Calculate Path Quality check-box is selected during map creation or initiating a path quality calculation from the table.

Color	Meaning
	No coverage or path quality not calculated
	Senet path quality between 0% and 25%
	Senet path quality between 25% and 50%
	Senet path quality between 50% and 75%
	Senet path quality between 75% and 100%

If Helium hotspots are included in the Path Quality calculations, the generated markers include a purple dot as shown here:

Color	Meaning
	Senet path quality between 0% and 25%; Helium Hotspot(s) present
	Senet path quality between 25% and 50%; Helium Hotspot(s) present
	Senet path quality between 50% and 75%; Helium Hotspot(s) present
	Senet path quality between 75% and 100%; Helium Hotspot(s) present
	No Senet coverage; Helium Hotspot(s) present